Dexter and Saracen: Celebration
by NightcatMau
Summary: To celebrate the legalization of gay marriage in Ireland I wrote a nifty little one-shot the day of. (5/23/15) Saracen/Dexter, Valkyrie/Tanith, Ghastly/Skulduggery, Anton/Larrikin pairings. Gay fanfic, don't like it, don't read.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I don't own Dex, Saracen, Val, Tanith, Skul, Ghastly, Anton, Larrikin or Erskine. This is going to be hyper and silly because I'm celebrating, but it is what it is. Set after the novels so Val is in her 20s. If you have a problem with gay marriage or gay fanfic just turn around and sashay away, honey. I so don't want to hear it.

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Saracen walked into the Irish Sanctuary alongside Dexter. Both men had been in the crowd the day the news had passed. Gay marriage was finally legal in Ireland. And, in a rare show of agreeing with a mortal government the Sanctuary had followed suit. And so now many couples were showing up to be wed after decades or centuries of living in silence and shame.

And the two Dead Men were done hiding as well. Saracen gave Dexter a goofy grin as they joined the line that snaked towards the Grand Mage's office. "You look handsome today. No, you do." He said and Dex laughed.

They'd been a couple for years and as soon as Erskine had called them the night before they had decided to take it as a sign. They were wearing traveling clothes, close to what they'd wear for a mission, and that of course, was the point. They wanted the world to know that yes, they were gay and bi respectively, and that yes, they were still very much indeed men and very much Dead Men to boot.

Valkyrie came walking down the long line of happy couples to them, grinning hugely. "About time you two tied the knot. Now if only someone would light a fire under Ghastly and Skulduggery we'd be fine."

"I thought you loved him." Dexter said, surprised, and Valkyrie blushed.

"I, uh, liked someone else too. I think what I had for him was puppy love more or less. But what I have for her is real." She paused then looked at them and Saracen could sense the punchline coming but hid his smile. "But it is a mixed marriage, you won't hold it against me that she's English, will you?"

Then men both grinned as Tanith sauntered up behind Val to put her arms around her newly minted bride. Valkyrie giggled and Tanith flashed the men a crooked smile. "Looks like everyone had the same idea. Won't be any going back on the Sanctuary's part either, magical laws tend to stick."

"Which is why we're all here." A voice said from behind them and Saracen turned in surprise to see Anton and Larrikin. The friends kept company and the women watched proudly as Saracen and Dex could at last exchange vows.

Saracen felt happy tears prick his eyes as he slipped the ring on Dex's finger and when he could at last kiss his husband he was truly blissful. They agreed to wait and witness Anton and Larrikin's marriage then the couples all walked out of the Sanctuary together.

They agreed to make a stop at a cafe not far from the Sanctuary to celebrate. It wouldn't be much, just tea and coffee and perhaps some kind of dessert, but it would be a good enough wedding party to all of them. And then the couples could split up and continue onto their chosen destinations. Saracen hadn't told Dex where he planned on taking him just yet, but he hoped he could surprise the experienced globetrotter and hedonist.

And as they got in their rental together he leaned over and kissed Dexter softly. "I'm never going to get tired of being able to do that." He said happily and from Dex's smile he knew he never would either.

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 **Yay, gay marriage legalized in Ireland at last! 5/23/15. A day to celebrate indeed.**


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I don't own Saracen, Dexter, Ghastly, Skulduggery, Tanith or Valkyrie. Thanks go out to **China Sorrows 400** , **HappyGuest,** **JellyfishSisters** for the positive reviews and I mean that. Also to T **he-empty-masquerade** , **LionsandTrolls** , **Hellsgun EmmortalDead** , **GhostlyBespook** and **BethShadows** for the faves. And again to **The-empty-masquerade** for the follow. Being pan myself I can't put into words how much the support means to me, so how about a second chapter instead?

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Saracen looked towards the couple awaiting the group in the café and grinned. Holding hands with their own rings on display, Skulduggery and Ghastly looked amused to see the surprise and delight on their friends' faces. The men rose to greet their friends and hugs and congratulations were exchanged and tables were drawn together then Saracen snagged Valkyrie to help him with drink and dessert orders.

Valkyrie cocked an eyebrow at him. "Only going to give you this lecture once, Val. Don't be like me. The me I used to be. I know Dex is the one and I won't stray."

"I won't. Tanith's no better and we've had this talk. We've both found the right one and if I ever do stray they'll never find my body." She shrugged happily and the pair laughed. They got the drinks and desserts ordered, and the cafe owner, both a mage himself and having a discrete sticker in the front window told the pair to be seated and that the food and drinks would be brought to them.

He also refused payment and when Saracen tried to argue the man shook his head. "Look, in a perfect world we'd have the same as them. This is as close to a wedding reception as you'll ever have so let me treat you, all right?" Saracen nodded, his eyes threatening to mist over. He knew what the man meant.

Although marriage was a huge step forward it meant that a handful of very disturbed and hateful people now saw all the more reason to make trouble. So even with the celebrations he knew they could expect some rough roads ahead. Saracen shoved the thoughts aside and murmured his thanks then returned to the table with Valkyrie. Dex gave him a worried look and Saracen banished his troubled thoughts immediately. The future could take care of itself.

Now he was with the man he loved, the man he wondered how it had taken him forever to notice and he took Dex's hand in his reassuringly. "We're being given our reception on the house." He said, raising his voice slightly so the rest of the table could hear him and their friends all looked touched.

Dex smiled at him. "Charmed the owner into that, did we?" He teased and Saracen felt himself blush. "Old habits die hard, hm?" The man was practically purring and Saracen felt the blush grow. Dex loved teasing him, and Saracen loved being teased. Mainly because most people fell for Saracen's charm and good looks and although Dex loved him for both Dex was also the one man on the planet who knew that for Saracen he was the charming one.

Dex shifted in his seat slightly and looked at Saracen, a serious look coming over his handsome features. "You know, Saracen, this changes things." He said solemnly and Saracen gave him a puzzled smile. "Being married. Most of the Dead Men married to one another, come to think of it." His lips twitched slightly. "The next thing you know it will be a requirement."

The table laughed and Saracen was delighted. Dex had figured out how to get past his ability to just know things. And it thrilled Saracen because he needed that too. He needed someone by his side that could remain a mystery to him and be hidden. And as he looked into Dex's fond gaze he got a hint of just how long Dex had had that ability, how many missions they'd been on and Dex had never said a word.

Saracen felt a lump in his throat, and Dex squeezed his hand comfortingly. "Now you know." He said softly. "And now you know why you never noticed me. It was my gift to you. I loved you so much that I wanted a normal life for you."

"I do have a normal life." Saracen said, his eyes misting up. "I have you." And although he wasn't a huge fan of public displays of affection, Saracen leaned in and kissed Dex softly, reveling in the fact that they were together at last.

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 **Kittens just appeared on my desk! They always show up when I write anything fluffy. They are having a party, I swear, a tiny kitten-sized party with rainbow flags and glitter!**


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I don't own Saracen or Dex. Thanks go out to **JellyfishSisters** and **hrhowling** for reviewing. Sorry to take so long to update, but nothing was coming to me.

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Saracen smiled at Dex as they left the café and got in the car. His smile grew into a grin when they drove several blocks and he pulled in front of the newest and most expensive hotel in Dublin. Saracen handed the keys to the valet who greeted them both by name. Saracen looked at Dex, puzzled, and then it was Dex leading the way into the hotel.

"Great minds think alike." He murmured as he led the way to the private elevator that whisked them to the uppermost level of the hotel. "Close your eyes." He purred as the doors opened and Saracen obeyed, feeling Dex lead him to a door, and then he heard the key card click in the slot and the door being opened.

Dex led him inside and then pressed his lips to Saracen's. Saracen kept his eyes closed as he returned the kiss and when they parted Dex gestured for him to look out at the amazing view. Saracen drank in the sight of Dublin as Dex's arms went around him from behind. "All ours, my sweet. We own this penthouse outright."

"We do?" Saracen asked faintly.

"We do." Dex turned him around to smile at Saracen fondly. "I get to take care of you, remember?" Saracen nodded. "Now, I assume you had a room reserved for us?"

"Yeah, but nothing like this."

"Nonsense. We can honeymoon there. I just wanted you to see your new home so you'd know I meant it when I said I'd always be here you."

Saracen grinned at Dex and didn't resist as Dex pulled him in for a lingering kiss. Both men laughed as they parted, just happy to be together, then Saracen was leading the way to a room far less opulent several doors down where a gift basket awaited them.

Dex looked around in amusement. "So this is where I get to do perfectly indecent things to you, is it?" He asked teasingly and Saracen felt himself flush. Dex waved his shyness off good naturedly. "You homed in on that basket, good to see I've taught you to appreciate the finer things in life."

"You have. Like you, for instance." Saracen replied and it was Dex's turn to flush. But the teasing was part of their relationship that Saracen truly enjoyed. That and watching Dex go through the basket. He was as fussy as a pedigree cat and Saracen thought it was sweet how he considered each item carefully before selecting the wine and the chocolates to go with it.

"I ought to feed you." Dex said with a grin.

"I wouldn't protest."

"Well then, if you insist." Dex's voice was barely a whisper and as he selected a chocolate and tenderly fed it to Saracen, Saracen felt his emotions take over. Overwhelming relief at having someone to watch over him at last, mixed with profound love and the deepest sense of amazement that Dex would have chosen him to love.

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 **I think listening to the De-Lovely soundtrack while I'm writing does us all a world of good, don't you?**


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I don't own Saracen, Dex, Anton, Larrikin, Valkyrie or Tanith. Thanks go out to **JellyfishSisters** for the review and plot suggestion, and to **LegitMarshmallow** for the fave and follow. Sorry to take so long to update, nothing was coming to me.

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Time passed and the men settled in and soon it was December. Dex and Saracen were out together, enjoying the nippy weather and Christmas windows as Saracen pushed the stroller their adopted daughter was in when they came across a protest group in front of the café where they'd had their impromptu wedding reception. Dex frowned beside him and Saracen felt sick at the hateful messages their signs had emblazoned on them. Why couldn't these people just leave them in peace? Were they so threatened by gay people finding happiness that they had to try and shut down the café too?

Still, the men exchanged glances and went to go into the café peacefully when one of the maniacs dropped her sign and reached towards the stroller for their daughter. "Abominations! How _dare_ you adopt a child? Isn't it bad enough you are damned in the sight of God? You want to teach your perverse ways to a child as well?" She screamed.

"Don't touch my daughter." Dex said quietly. The woman lunged for the crib and he was beside her and twisting her around and driving her to one knee while the other fanatics converged on them, clearly intent on bloodshed.

Saracen didn't like the idea of hitting mortals, but he liked the idea of his family being hurt even less. Just as the people closed in and his fist connected with the face of a man trying to rush him there was a deafening boom and the crowd parted. Anton stood there, his beloved Daisy in his hands and Larrikin had his guns on him. "We'll call the police!" The woman shrieked as Dex let her go. "You filthy monsters!" She glared at Anton and he just watched her calmly, and something about him promised death and suffering to the mob and they melted away.

A crowd that had gathered at the sound of the boom cheered the more or less peaceful resolution, then they too drifted away as Anton glanced at them calmly. He turned his attention back to Saracen and Dexter. "Good to see the two of you. We have an invitation to visit Valkyrie and Tanith at the mansion and thought we'd stop for coffee first. I just happened to feel like taking Daisy for a walk. The fresh air does her good."

"Good thing you did." Saracen said, grinning in relief. Anton nodded and came forward to smile down on their daughter.

"May I?" He asked as he handed off his shotgun to an amused Larrikin and both Dex and Saracen nodded. Anton picked her up tenderly, his gentle gaze going softer than normal. "It must be amazing to have a daughter." He murmured. "Tell me you two have settled on a name at last. It's undignified for her to be going around nameless."

"We have, actually." Dex said. "Seeing as she has taken a shine to her godfather it's a good thing too. Anton, I'd like you to meet Antonia. Toni, meet Anton, he's your godfather." He said and the baby promptly snuggled into Anton's secure embrace at the sound of her father's voice and went to sleep, her tiny hand clutching Anton's lapel and the fond gaze Anton gave her in return let Saracen know his daughter would always had a guardian angel in him.

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 **D'aw, that was a buddle of cute snuggled up in a blanket with kittens.**


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I don't own Saracen, Dex, Larrikin, Anton, Valkyrie or Tanith. Thanks go out to **ishipthem1** for the review, fave and follow. To **Rowan Masechius** and **LegitMarshmallow** for reviewing and to **PiggywithaPoncho** for the fave and anyone I might have missed.

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The couples decided to get coffee and treats to go, reasoning that Valkyrie and Tanith might like some too. "Why didn't the girls meet us here?" Saracen asked as he and Anton waited in line and Larrikin and Dex got caught up.

"They said something about having a surprise for us. Though I think our two new mothers have enough to do already. They're exhausted, you know that. " Anton said gently. "But they insisted it was no problem and that they had a surprise for us." He shrugged, clearly content to wait and see and Saracen was just grateful he'd hidden his beloved shotgun underneath his longcoat.

And when they got to Gordon's mansion Saracen couldn't believe the transformation. The whole place was bedecked with swags and lights and he worried the women had done the work on their own when they buzzed them in. So he was relieved to see them sitting in front of a huge Christmas tree holding their babies and looking as regal as any lionesses.

But he felt a surge of a different emotion entirely when Anton got to hold his surprise. Valkyrie had risen to greet the men with hugs then taken her tiny bundle from Tanith and set her in Anton's arms. He looked at the women then back at the baby. "You're giving us your daughter?"

" _Your_ daughter, Anton. When you agreed to be the father we'd already planned on just one child. Since we were both able to carry to term we knew you were meant to have her." Anton nodded and Saracen didn't think he'd heard much. He was clearly more concerned about the women giving up a child. True, Anton had agreed to be a father to their children, but Saracen just knew he couldn't have imagined ever being given his own little one.

Larrikin managed to speak for both men. "You don't know how much having our own child means to us, Valkyrie. We never imagined being able..." He trailed off and Valkyrie held him close, and Saracen knew without even using his ability that she was the mother making the ultimate sacrifice.

He knew she loved her baby dearly. But he also knew that as a member of the gay community she knew the challenges the men would face in trying to adopt. They would still have a hard time being two fathers, well, when Valkyrie wasn't around to punch people they would.

"You're going to have to tell us how you two have managed it." Anton said at last as the women insisted on getting them all settled with the coffee and treats, and they all knew what he meant. Same sex parents were no less loving or dedicated, but as the incident in front of the café had pointed out, some nutters didn't believe they were capable of being parents or should have the right.

"Valkyrie hits people." Tanith said cheerfully.

"Yeah? I didn't threaten to decapitate the old lady who offered to pray my gay away and rescue me from your evil clutches." Valkyrie teased back and the women howled with laughter though the men failed to see the humour in it. Valkyrie waved lazily. "If they didn't hate us for being gay they'd hate us for something else. They don't even realize that we're a pan and bi couple. Haters." Valkyrie shook her head and Saracen nodded.

The nasty people dealt with and cleared away, the couples settled down to bonding with all the babies, Antonia and all the other babies seemingly enchanted with the bright lights and shiny ornaments of the Christmas tree. And of course the women had little gifts for everyone, including adoption papers for their new baby for Larrikin and Anton and Saracen made a mental note to keep a closer eye on Valkyrie.

She was happy and Anton _was_ the father, but he still knew that like any mother she would want to be near her baby forever. Anton, apparently reading his mind, offered the women several months at the Midnight Hotel to rest, and after, as they came to Ireland on a regular basis, there was no reason mother and child should be separated for long. That, Saracen decided, was the best Christmas gift ever given.

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 **I know, a little longer, but I wanted to get a cozy scene in there. And now I want to nest!**


End file.
